World Youth Day will not cost Spanish tax payers $75 million, confirms official

Madrid, Spain, Jul 27, 2011 / 01:57 pm (CNA/Europa Press).- The executive director of World Youth Day Madrid 2011, Yago de la Cierva, has explained that the event will not cost tax payers in Spain $75 million. He said that government assistance will only come in the form of permission to use public facilities.

De la Cierva said World Youth Day is covering the expenses associated with the event. In the case of public schools being used for various activities, he confirmed that World Youth Day workers and volunteers will be responsible for cleaning up both before and after the event.

He pointed out that government agencies will be drawing from their existing budgets to handle expenses associated with World Youth Day. In fact, the associate director for Tourism in Madrid, David Martin Vallesa, said World Youth Day would have “zero cost” for the city of Madrid, which has not allocated a special budget for the event.

The director of World Youth Day's press office, Marieta Jaureguizar, noted that the event is paying for itself through donations—which make up 30 percent of the budget—and sign-up fees—which constitute the remaining 70 percent.

The person responsible for handicapped services for the event underscored that a climate-controlled tent will be set up at Madrid’s central park at no cost thanks to a donation from the Adecco Foundation.

The Order of St. John of God, the International Federation for the Blind, and other organizations will provide services to those with disabilities at the tent to demonstrate how the Church cares for the handicapped and the infirm.